It’s no secret that the influence of the seasons has repercussions for your health; colds and flu tend to run rampant as winter progresses whilst spring, for many, marks the onset of pesky allergies, and summer’s warm weather often provides a welcome reprieve from illness altogether. Your physiology is constantly adapting to the changes in temperature, precipitation, food availability, sun exposure and activity level that characterize the cycle of the year.
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The time-tested medical tradition of Ayurveda, often called yoga’s holistic sister science, has placed special importance on the influence of seasonality on your health and well-being for thousands of years. In response, it outlines specific, practical, seasonal routines (ritucharya) to help you stay balanced and healthy 12 months a year.
To understand how these seasonal routines can benefit you, it’s helpful to appreciate two fundamentals of Ayurveda. First, the principle that like increases like. For instance, the cold, dry winds that turn the aspen leaves crunchy and blow them to the ground in the fall also provoke dryness in your physiology, resulting in dry skin, constipation and depletion. Second, we can restore balance with opposites, such as using oil to soothe dry skin.
When it comes to living in the Valley, our long cold season, which usually shows up in November and stubbornly sticks around until May, is arguably the most impactful for your health. Ayurveda divides this period up into two seasons: Shishira ritu (late winter), characterized by increased cold and dryness, and vasanta ritu(spring), characterized by liquefaction, which in our case means snowmelt and thawing ground. Because these two seasons are markedly different — the first is dry and cold while the second is heavy and moist —they have practically contrasting effects on your physiology, and therefore require two distinct approaches to daily living.
During these coldest months, heat tends to become trapped in your body, enabling a stronger digestive fire, which helps you to consume the heavier, fatty foods you need for welcome fuel during our busy season.
The thawing of winter may be mirrored by excessive mucus in the body accompanied by a sensation of physical and emotional heaviness that are best balanced with an overall approach of lightening up and getting moving.